Livingstone smoulders amid Lancashire rubble

Somerset 153 for 8 (Elgar 66*, McLaren 4-46) lead Lancashire 109 (Livingstone 68, C Overton 5-47) by 44 runs
Scorecard

Recollections of a grey and rather heavy Manchester day on which 18 wickets fell should, one would think, be dominated by the exploits of bowlers. To be specific, we should laud the achievement of the Somerset seamers in dismissing Lancashire for a plainly inadequate 109 and then offer our congratulations to the home attack in limiting Somerset's lead to a mere 44 runs, albeit that the visitors have two wickets in hand and the excellent Dean Elgar still at the crease.

Yet while both sets of pace bowlers performed nobly on a testing pitch which nevertheless scarcely justified the fall of wickets with a frequency matched only by Italian governments, it will, perhaps, be two contrasting innings which spectators will remember when they reflect on a manic day at Emirates Old Trafford. The first of these was played by Lancashire's stand-in skipper Liam Livingstone, who batted with exemplary responsibility when partnered by established batsmen before lunch and then glorious freedom when accompanied by the tail in the afternoon.

Mind you, not too many of the top order hung around for long to admire their leader's discipline. When Livingstone arrived at the wicket in the fourth over both Haseeb Hameed and Alex Davies had already been dismissed for ducks by fine balls from Josh Davey, Hameed edging the fifth delivery of the match to the wicketkeeper, Steven Davies, and Alex Davies being taken by Marcus Trescothick at slip.

Nor was there any prolonged halt to the grisly procession of Lancashire batsmen. Having threatened to post inadequate first-innings totals in their previous two matches only to think better of it and mount remarkable recoveries instead, Lancashire finally did the job properly on the opening day of this game. As if to justify the darkest fears of their supporters, many of whom were watching their first cricket of 2017, Livingstone's side put together their miserable total in 41.4 overs, less than a session and a half's cricket.

That said, Somerset's attack offered a tough examination on a pitch which seemed to retain early moisture. Craig Overton bowled with pace and proper aggression to remove Luke Procter, Rob Jones and Dane Vilas in successive overs and when Ryan McLaren nicked Tim Groenewald to Elgar at slip the home side were 42 for 6. Time to check the record books and visit Old Trafford's black museum, some thought, but Livingstone and Jordan Clark stopped the worst of the rot by adding 22 runs in 45 minutes of self-denial before lunch.

After the interval, though, the tumble resumed, Clark miscuing Overton to Tom Abell at extra cover and Parry giving one of Instow's finest his fifth wicket with a tame return catch. At which point Livingstone moved his batting up from second gear to fifth and he did so with a rapidity befitting one of cricket's classiest young marques. Having used the wreckage of his team's innings to show that there is far more to his game than short-form salvos, Livingstone tore into the Somerset bowling wherever possible scoring 40 runs off 32 balls in the afternoon session.

Moreover, it might be noted that this innings of two halves against Somerset was watched by the national selector, James Whitaker. Livingstone is taking the careful plan of progression drawn up for him and tearing it up, a task he is achieving as much by his cricketing intelligence as by raw ability. It was thrilling to see him come down the wicket and smack Overton onto the first balcony of the Old Trafford pavilion; and it was remarkable to observe his ability to move from orthodoxy and the coaching book to ramps, scoops and other such exotica, albeit that by the time he was the last man out, caught at deep square leg by Jack Leach, Lancashire had not achieved a par total.

Elgar's effort, though, was quite as praiseworthy as Livngstone's. The Somerset opener lost his partner when Trescothick had edged a fine ball from McLaren to the wicketkeeper but Elgar remained for the rest of the day, facing 151 balls and taking 214 minutes over his 66 not out.

The South African excepted, Somerset's batsmen found batting a tortuous business, especially against McLaren, who ran in with an obvious will and made the most of any help offered by the pitch. Lancashire's overseas allrounder removed Tom Abell for a single and later accounted for both Peter Trego and Craig Overton in an evening session which seemed at one stage to offer the prospect of the home side batting again.

Trego's 52-run stand for the fifth wicket with Elgar had seemed to avert that possibility only for Procter to revive it by taking the wickets of Lewis Gregory and Davey with successive deliveries. When Overton's wicket was taken by McLaren, seven overs were left in the day but Leach partnered Elgar calmly to close of play, when both players and spectators probably welcomed the chance to draw breath.